Spurs join debate on technical fouls

When Cleveland’s Daniel Gibson was slapped with a quick technical foul early in Thursday’s preseason win over the Spurs, it might have made George Hill feel a little bit better about his own run-in with the NBA’s decorum police two nights earlier. Might have, but it didn’t.

After being teed up in the final 30 seconds of a tight game against the Clippers in Mexico City, Hill — like seemingly the rest of the league — is still coming to grips with the league’s ultra-sensitive new technical rules.

“You don’t think you’re going to get one if you don’t actually say nothing, or even look at the person,” said Hill, the Spurs’ third-year guard. “Got to learn to control your emotions, I guess.”

Hill’s crime: throwing his hands in the air and running to half court after being whistled for a reach-in foul. Nobody in the Spurs locker room Thursday seemed to know what Gibson did to deserve his technical.

Kane Fitzgerald, the official who whistled Gibson, was the same one responsible for ejecting Boston’s Kevin Garnett from a game the night before. In the same game, New York’s Timofey Mozgov was assessed a tech for muttering in his native Russian.

“It’s hard, because sometimes you’re not even saying things toward the ref,” said Spurs forward Antonio McDyess, a 14-year NBA veteran. “You foul, you might clap your hands and go, ‘Dang it!’ I don’t know how they differentiate between (talking to the refs) and ‘Dang, I shouldn’t have done that.’”

Through the first 59 games of the preseason, there were 69 technical fouls called on players and coaches. Twenty-three were called Tuesday night alone.

Billy Hunter, director of the NBA players union, has issued a statement condemning the new rule as “an unnecessary and unwarranted overreaction” and threatening legal action.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is on record supporting the rule as a way to reduce “histrionics.” At least one of his players isn’t sure it will do any good.

“When you get emotionally into the game, it’s not going to matter,” McDyess said. “You just can’t stop yourself.”

Hill out: Hill has been excused from tonight’s game against Caja Laboral to attend a funeral in his hometown of Indianapolis. Jacob Moore, the 14-month-old son of a family friend, drowned in a 5-gallon water bucket last week.

“It’s tough,” Hill said. “I felt like it’s needed I go up there. I treat those people like my family.”

Haislip returns: Marcus Haislip, whose ill-fated 10-game Spurs career ended when he left for Greece last season, will be back in the AT&T Center tonight. The 29-year-old former NBA first-round pick was one of Caja Laboral’s key acquisitions over the offseason.